The Chaos Theory
by irene86
Summary: He had spent his entire life trying to make sense of the universe. Nothing made sense anymore.
1. 1 The Texan Relocation Quandary

When their expedition to the arctic ended and they returned home, things didn't return to normal the way that Sheldon had expected. Leonard and Penny quickly entered into a romantic relationship and changed the dynamic that Sheldon held with both of them. Any time that Leonard or Penny showed any form of public affection it made Sheldon feel physically ill. Bile rose in his throat at the slightest touch shared between the two. Sheldon had gone so far as to ask Leonard to refrain from being affectionate with Penny in front of him in any capacity, but Leonard responded by telling him that it was crazy to ask him to not even touch his girlfriend. Sheldon responded to this refusal of his request by staying late at work, going over to Raj's apartment much more often than normal, and spending the majority of his time at home in his bedroom.

Despite the increased number of work hours, Sheldon found that he was less productive than he had ever been. One evening, he stood in his office working out a problem. His mind refused to focus on the equations on his white board and instead began musing on what Leonard and Penny might be doing at that moment. A wave of nausea hit him and he sat down at his desk. He had come up with a rough plan over the past couple of days, but had yet to do any research to determine its plausibility. He opened up the internet browser on his computer and began typing.

"I'm moving back to Texas." Sheldon announced to the group a few days later.

"Sheldon, what are you talking about?" Leonard asked from his chair at the edge of the living room.

"I have accepted a job at the University of Houston. The physics department is not quite to the calibre of that of CalTech, however it will allow me to be much closer to my family. As my MeeMaw is ill, it will give me more time to spend with her before she passes on."

Penny got up from her spot on the middle cushion of the couch and walked over to Sheldon, who was standing near the kitchen island. She looked up at him with sympathetic eyes, "Oh Sweetie, I didn't know your grandma was sick. I'm so sorry to hear that." She reached up and rubbed circles on his back.

Sheldon took a breath and it caught in his throat. After a moment he spoke softly, "thank you for your condolences Penny." He cast his eyes downward and took a sip of his tea.

It had taken Sheldon a while to realize that what had been afflicting him since he had returned home was not any type of illness. After much research and deliberation he came to the realization that the sick feelings he had been having were jealousy, pure and simple. He found himself wanting to be the one with his arms around Penny, and seeing Leonard in that position began to become more than Sheldon could handle. He was unaware of how these feelings developed; she had been with plenty of men in the past two years that she had lived across the hall, and none of them had made him feel this intense jealousy. He had known since the beginning that Leonard had had feelings for Penny, but the thought that they could ever be in a real relationship was not something he had deemed a possibility. Seeing them together made these jealous feelings so much more intense, however they never really left him and Sheldon deduced that the only way to return his life to the way it had been was to remove himself from the situation. His thoughts were clouded in a way that they never had been before, and Sheldon felt that it was his duty to science to keep his cognitive processes at an optimal level.

While Sheldon realized that he was jealous, he never took the time to think about the real reason for these feelings, only of how to make them go away.

Within the next couple of weeks Sheldon meticulously packed up all of his belongings and labelled them appropriately. With the help of his mother he had secured a small apartment within walking distance of the university. He shipped the boxes filled with his things to his new address, keeping only a few toiletries and items of clothing.

The morning of his departure he was alone in the apartment, Leonard already having left for work. The guys had thrown him a going away party the night before, but it had been subdued. Despite a few sarcastic comments about Sheldon's personality, the night had had a sombre tone. Sheldon stood in the middle of the living room, his small suitcase and carryon bag placed by the door, ready and waiting. There was a soft knock and then the door swung open to reveal Penny standing behind it, wearing her Cheesecake Factory uniform. Penny's shift that day started in the early afternoon so she was available to drive Sheldon to the airport to catch his late-morning flight.

"Ready Sweetie?"

Sheldon swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. Penny picked up Sheldon's suitcase as Sheldon grabbed the carryon. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out his key for the apartment door and dropped it one last time into the bowl.

The drive to the airport was spent in near silence, neither of them knowing what to say. Penny stayed with Sheldon until it was time for him to go through security. They stood, facing each other, next to the barrier for the security line, Sheldon's carryon on the floor at his feet.

"Thank you for driving me to the airport, Penny."

Penny's eyes glistened as she looked up at him. "You're welcome, Sweetie."

Without any hesitation Sheldon took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Penny. Before Penny even knew what was happening, she was wrapped up tightly in his embrace. She leaned into him, palms flat against his chest, feeling the beat of his heart through the layers of his shirts. He squeezed her tighter and she tucked her head under his chin. After a moment that felt far too short, Sheldon let her go and bent down to pick up his bag. When Sheldon straightened he looked into Penny's face to see a too-large smile and eyes that were brimming with tears.

"Have a good flight!" she said, sounding much too chipper.

"Goodbye Penny. Take care."

"Bye Sheldon," she whispered at his back as he walked up to security. She watched him until he disappeared to the other side of the metal detector. Not once did he turn back to look for her.


	2. 2 The Acidic Heart Acquisition

As soon as Sheldon was out of sight the tears that had been welling up in Penny's eyes spilled over and ran down her face. She gave a single sob, then wiped at her eyes and made her way out of the building.

She made it through her shift and at the end of the day returned home to her apartment. She did a quick change out of her uniform and went across the hall to the apartment whose lease had been transferred to Leonard's name. When she opened the door, Leonard himself was standing in the kitchen making a snack.

"Hey Penny! Watch this!" He began to whistle a jaunty tune. Penny laughed at the sheer joy that Leonard took from performing this simple action. In her head she could hear Sheldon saying, "That's strike one Leonard!" The smile suddenly fell from her lips.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Leonard asked, coming around to the other side of the island.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just finding it a little hard to believe that he's actually gone, you know?"

"I know!" Leonard said, sounding a little too happy about the absence of his roommate of several years and so-called best friend. "And look," he continued as he led her over to the sofa, "Now you can sit wherever you want!"

Penny looked at Sheldon's spot. No, it wasn't his spot anymore; he wasn't here to sit in it. It was her spot now.

She sat down tentatively and wiggled her butt a little. She grinned up at Leonard. "Comfy."

"Right?"

He snuggled up beside her and they watched a movie.

That night as they lay together in Leonard's bed with his arms wrapped around her, Penny's mind flashed back to that morning when it was Sheldon who had held her tightly. Sheldon, with his long, lanky frame, had wrapped his strong arms around her. Looking back on it, she was surprised to realize that being in his arms had made her feel extremely safe. She had never felt protected like that before. Leonard was, let's face it, a wimp. Even when she had been with Kurt, she hadn't felt like that. Sure, Kurt was huge and could (and would) beat up any guy who would hit on her, but that had never been able to give her this sense of calm. Sheldon was different. Sheldon had a working knowledge of the entire universe and (nearly) everything it contains. He knew who he was and didn't apologize for it. He was generous and helpful. And now he was gone. Penny was a little shocked at how much she missed him, and he hadn't even been gone for an entire day. A tear slid down her cheek and soaked into the pillowcase as she drifted off to sleep.

Penny woke up alone the next morning. She rolled over and looked at the clock. 10:15. Leonard had left for work a couple of hours ago. Penny got out of bed and padded to the kitchen. A cold, half full pot of coffee sat on the counter. She poured herself a cup and warmed it in the microwave. She surveyed the apartment as she sipped her reheated coffee. It looked much sparser than it had before. Sheldon's desk was bare, the bookcase at the back of the room had about a third as many books as it usually held. Even the top of the fridge held only a couple of the more sugary cereals. There was a void in the apartment and it made Penny feel strange. Things were not as they were meant to be.

There was something inexplicable that Penny could feel drawing her back down the hallway. She stood outside the closed door to Sheldon's bedroom and the memory of his voice saying, "Penny, people cannot be in my bedroom," made her pause.

"It's not your bedroom anymore," she said quietly to herself and turned the doorknob.

The room had an eerie quality to it, as if it were haunted. It had been stripped of all linens, DVDs, comic books, and memorabilia of any sort. Penny ran her hand along the bookshelf that had previously held organizational baskets that contained said comic books and DVDs. She sat down on the bare mattress and looked around her. He had taken every single item with him, there was nothing left, not a fragment. The only thing of Sheldon's that remained was his scent. He always smelled of soap and fabric softener and the air in this room was heavy with it. Penny breathed in deeply and sighed, and then fiddled with her earring. The back unexpectedly came loose and the earring fell to the floor and rolled underneath the bed.

"Crap."

Penny got on her hands and knees on the floor and reached underneath the bed. She felt around until her hand landed on her earring. As she was pulling her hand back from underneath the bed she brushed against something.

"What the heck?"

She lowered her head to look for the thing she had touched. It was a small item and felt smooth to the touch. Penny pulled it out and looked at it. It was three small, round, red balls that had been stuck together. They formed a sort of triangle. Penny held it up to examine it closer and she decided that it looked a little like a lumpy heart, but she could not figure out the purpose of it. She pocketed the item and left the room, closing the door behind her.

After her shift that evening Penny felt exhausted. She went over to Leonard's apartment to give him a good night kiss and let him know that she was going to crash at her own place. She went home and got ready for bed. Right before she was about to go to sleep, she reached down to pick up the pair of jeans she had been wearing earlier in the day from off of the floor. From the pocket she plucked out the trinket she had found under Sheldon's former bed. She placed it on her nightstand next to her lamp, crawled under the covers and drifted off to sleep.


	3. 3 The Macro Affection Anomaly

Sheldon left the Science Center at the University of Houston, his messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He walked past a couple of parking lots, through a slightly run down area of town, and then into a more residential section. He turned onto a tree-lined street and past a couple of apartment buildings before turning and walking up the path to his own.

There was a delivery boy standing just outside the door to the building. Sheldon took the white plastic bag from him and handed over his money for the order plus a generous tip. Sheldon had only been in Houston for a few weeks, but already the Thai restaurant that he ordered from knew his schedule and order so perfectly that he didn't even need to call and place the order anymore.

He unlocked his door, set his messenger bag down beside his desk and went into the kitchen to grab some cutlery. His apartment was tiny and he had bought a second hand love seat instead of a couch in order to conserve space. He sat on the left half of the love seat and ate his mee krob while watching Firefly on DVD.

When he had finished eating and the episode had ended, Sheldon reached into his bag to pull out his laptop. He checked his email and found that he had a message from Penny waiting for him. The subject line read "Schrödinger's LOLCat." He sighed and clicked to open the email.

_Hi Sweetie! I know you said not to send you any more of these, but I don't care about your stupid strikes! It's not like you can banish me from Texas. Besides, I think you might appreciate this one._

_I haven't heard from you in awhile. I hope everything is going well and you are settling into your new job. Say 'hi' to your family for me and let me know how your Meemaw is doing._

_Love, Penny. 3_

Beneath this was an image of a cat sitting in a box. Above the cat was the phrase 'In ur quantum box…' and underneath was '…maybe.' Sheldon couldn't help but smile to himself.

He decided that he would reply to Penny tomorrow. He closed his laptop and set it on his desk. Then he took his cutlery into the kitchen, washed it and made himself a cup of tea. He sat back down on the love seat to catch up on the new comic books he had bought last week.

A couple of hours later Sheldon went to bed. That night he had a dream that Penny had shown up at his apartment and handed him a box. She told him, "I think it's dead." But Sheldon had opened the box and a fluffy kitten had looked up at him and mewed.

The next day at work one of the staff members from the physics department office knocked on Sheldon's office door.

"Dr. Cooper? May I take a moment of your time?"

"I suppose so. Come in Josie."

She walked in and sat down in the chair opposite him. "What's that?" she asked him while pointing at a sheet of paper sitting on his desk.

"Oh this?" Sheldon asked, picking up the paper, "Just a trivial email that a friend of mine sent to me." Sheldon had printed out the Lolcat that Penny had sent him and was planning on pinning it up on his wall next to a copy of Leonard's spherical chicken joke.

Josie raised her eyebrows in a way that said, "you have friends?" without actually saying anything, and then made a grab for the paper in Sheldon's hand, mistaking his picking it up for him handing it to her.

"Oh, that's cute!" she said. "I didn't take you for a lover of Lolcats."

"I'm not. At all. But Penny refuses to obey my rule about not forwarding such ridiculous things to me."

"But why would you print it out if you don't like it?"

"Well, I…" Sheldon spluttered. "This one is about physics, not cheeseburgers or invisible sports equipment."

"Okay, I was just wondering." She handed him back the sheet of paper and he placed it in his desk drawer.

"You came in here to talk to me about something other than Lolcats I would assume?" he asked with raised eyebrows and an air of condescension.

"Yes, right." She sat up straighter in her chair. "Every year U of H hosts a series of free lectures on the basics of different theoretical principles. Being that you are the newest member of the faculty, your colleagues decided that it would be a wonderful way to introduce you to the students and other faculty members if you were to host the first lecture of the year."

Sheldon looked quizzical. "Is this some sort of hazing?"

"What? No, of course not."

Sheldon looked up at the ceiling for a moment, contemplating. "Josie, I came here to do research, not to lecture." Josie opened her mouth as if to say something, but Sheldon cut her off before she was able to get a word out. "However, I would be willing to participate under a couple of conditions."

When Sheldon paused, Josie took a deep breath and said, "such as?"

"Well first of all I would need to have complete control over the topic on which I were to lecture."

"As long as it's physics related, go nuts," Josie's tone was beginning to betray her growing annoyance.

"Well of course it would be physics related, Josie. Why would the physics department hold lectures on anything but?"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Secondly, I hope my colleagues do not expect me to dumb down my lecture. I know you said that it is to be a basic overview, but I simply refuse to cater to lesser minds."

"Anything you want, Dr. Cooper. The students who usually attend these lectures are all graduate students in different areas of theoretical and applied physics; some of them are even working on their doctoral dissertations. I'm sure they will be able to keep up with you."

"Excellent. Then my last request is that I am allowed the span of a week to prepare and rehearse beforehand."

"The lecture series usually starts mid-November, so you should have at least a couple of weeks." She stood up and reached out her hand to shake Sheldon's. He stood up as well and looked at her outstretched hand, but kept his arms at his sides. She dropped her hand and said, "I will inform the rest of the faculty of your participation. Please submit your topic as well as a short overview to the department head by Monday of next week."

"Will do," Sheldon nodded curtly.

Josie left his office, closing the door behind her. Sheldon closed his laptop, once again failing to reply to Penny's email from the previous day. He pulled the Lolcat out of the drawer and pinned it to the back of his door, where he would be the only one to see it.

---------

A/N: Hi! Thanks for reading my story! I know this part is a bit boring, but it's set up for the next couple of chapters, which I promise will be more interesting. And a big thank you to the few people who have reviewed so far; I really appreciate it!


	4. 4 The Impulsive Visitation Deception

_Penny,_

_My apologies for taking so long to reply to your last email; work has kept me very busy. I trust you are doing well._

_Sheldon_

It had been nearly two weeks since Penny had sent her last email to Sheldon. Two weeks, and this was all she got in reply. Penny balanced her laptop on her knees, closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. If she hadn't missed the idiot so damn much she would have sworn she hated him. He, however didn't seem to miss her, or any of his friends, at all. None of them heard from him very often. He emailed very intermittently, almost never updated his Facebook, and had completely stopped using Twitter altogether. The other guys didn't seem to notice, they all continued on with their lives as if Sheldon had never existed. Penny would bring up his name every once in a while, "Remember that time that Sheldon…" and the guys would give non-committal responses and then change the subject.

Penny had confronted Leonard about this a few days earlier.

"Do you not miss him at all? Do you hate the guy that much? How can you live with someone for so long and then not give a rat's ass when he suddenly leaves?"

"Penny, calm down," Leonard had pleaded with her. "It's not that I don't care. Sure, I miss him sometimes, but you have to admit that life has been easier without him around. Without all of his insane rules and forms we now have the freedom to do what we want when we want, instead of planning our lives around his schedule."

Penny pouted. "Yeah, you're right. I still wish he would at least email more often."

Penny was about to respond to Sheldon's succinct email with a very angry one of her own, but something stopped her. Maybe he wasn't being an ass on purpose; maybe he _was_ just really busy. She understood that it could be difficult to settle into a new place.

She opened up a new browser window and googled the University of Houston website. She clicked around a bit until she found the University events page. Penny noticed that there was a physics lecture listed under 'Upcoming Events.' She clicked on it and the website told her that the lecture was titled 'An Introduction to the Basics of Non-Linear Dynamics' and that it was to be hosted by none other that Dr. Sheldon Cooper, PhD. The lecture was to be held this coming Saturday. _I have this weekend off,_ Penny thought to herself. That's when an idea started forming in her head.

Suddenly there was a _knock, knock, knock,_ at her door. Penny's heart nearly leapt out of her chest. Then she heard Leonard call her name. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, shut her laptop and placed it on the coffee table.

"Come on in Leonard, it's open."

"Hi, I made us dinner!" he said cheerily as he placed a casserole dish on the island in her kitchen.

They ate dinner at the table by the window, and afterwards Leonard agreed never to cook again. Penny invited him to stay the night.

As they were getting ready for bed that evening, Leonard spied Penny's found object sitting on her night table. He pointed to it and asked, "Where did you find that?"

"It was on the floor of your apartment. I found it the day after Sheldon left." She decided it best not to go into detail about where in the apartment it was found. She held it up, "It looks kind of like a heart, see?"

"Oh, yeah. It's actually part of a DNA model, Sheldon must have dropped it when he was packing."

"I wondered what it was."

"Why didn't you ask me?" he inquired, brows furrowed.

"I don't know…it never crossed my mind. I just liked it, I didn't really care what it was for."

Leonard let the subject drop and they went to bed.

The next night Leonard came home to find Penny in his apartment, sitting in her spot on the couch watching DVDs of 'How I Met Your Mother.'

"I really like Ted with Victoria," Penny said, "They should bring her back."

"I've never seen this show," Leonard replied.

"You should watch it, it's really good. There's this character named Barney who is a total womanizer and I swear Howard's tried to steal some of his moves." She shifted her position on the couch to face Leonard. "So, I'm going home to Nebraska this weekend. It's my sister's birthday and she wanted me there. I'm leaving Saturday morning and I should be home by Sunday night."

"Oh, okay. Well say 'Hi' to your family for me, and tell your sister 'Happy Birthday.'"

"Yeah," Penny nodded. "Yeah, I will."

Early on Saturday morning Leonard dropped Penny off at the airport. She had only a small carryon bag containing a pair of pyjamas, a change of clothes for the next day, and a few other essentials. She got her boarding pass and continued on to security. After a short wait at her gate she boarded a plane heading south to Houston.

As Penny walked through the doors of the air-conditioned Houston Airport the humidity hit her like a brick wall. She wasn't used to this climate. She got into the back of a cab and asked the driver to take her to the University of Houston.

"What building?" he asked her.

"Umm…the physics one?" Penny hadn't thought to check into where exactly Sheldon's lecture was supposed to be held.

The driver laughed at her. "Okay, I think I know where you mean."

About fifteen minutes later the cab pulled up outside of a building with large black windows. Penny paid the driver and got out of the vehicle. _What am I doing?_ she asked herself. _I must be losing my mind. I just lied to my boyfriend, and flew almost 1,400 miles to see a guy who is pissing me off. _She sighed and started walking forward. _Oh, well, I'm here. I might as well go through with it._

She walked through the large front doors and had no idea which way to go. A woman in a suit approached her. "Do you need help? You look a little lost."

"Oh, um, yes. I'm trying to get to the lecture that Dr. Sheldon Cooper is giving."

The woman looked her up and down and raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. She pointed to a set of stairs. "Go up to the second floor and head straight down to the end of the hall. There should be a sign."

"Thanks," Penny said and headed towards the staircase. She ended up standing outside of a room looking at a sign that gave the name of the lecture and listed Sheldon as lecturer. She opened the door slowly and peered in to the lecture hall. His talk was already in progress. Penny slipped through the door and took a seat at the back of the dark room. Sheldon stood at the front of the room below a large screen with a PowerPoint presentation displayed on it. He was completely engrossed in what he was talking about (of which Penny only understood every second word, and at that was unable to string them together to make any sense). She sat there for nearly an hour, listening to him speaking, but not understanding what he was saying. She watched him closely. He looked tired and run down, and she thought that he looked even thinner than normal. But still she was happy to see him; it had been too long. Her heart started to flutter as he ended the lecture and the lights in the room came up. As people filed up the steps past her, Penny made her way down to the front of the room.


	5. 5 The Adverse Cookie Allocation

Sheldon had just finished giving his lecture. He wasn't sure if it had endeared him to anyone, but he wasn't exactly concerned about whether or not people liked him. The room had been so dark that he could really only see the first couple of rows, and many of the eyes he could see looking out at him had glazed over within a few minutes. But now his job was done, and once he had collected up his papers he could go eat lunch. From the corner of his eye Sheldon saw a figure approach the podium. He decided to ignore this person in the hopes that he or she would just go away.

But then she spoke, "Um, excuse me Dr. Cooper, I was hoping you could answer a question for me."

Sheldon heaved a sigh of annoyance and looked up…and his heart stopped.

There in front of him stood Penny, with a big, silly grin on her face.

"Why the hell did it take you so long to email me back?"

"P-Penny!" he managed to stutter. "What are you doing here?"

She came around the podium and wrapped her arms around his middle. "I came here to see you! Why else would I be here?"

The few people who had yet to leave the room paused and stared. They then looked around at each other as if there might be someone amongst them who could explain why a beautiful blonde woman would be hugging the tall, gawky physicist who had spent the last hour rambling on and talking down to them. One of them shrugged his shoulders, the others followed suit, and they all filtered out of the room.

Sheldon allowed himself a moment to twine his arms around Penny's shoulders. He hated how good it felt to hold her.

He let go and she took a step back. "So how's life in Houston?" she asked.

"Well," he paused, trying to think of what to say. "I have been able to continue with my research. My colleagues are all tolerable. My apartment is within walking distance of the university, so I have no need to rely on the public transit system or to find someone willing to drive me to and from work. I take a bus to Galveston most weekends to visit my family. This weekend is an obvious exception as I was obligated to give the lecture you just attended."

"How is your family doing?" Penny asked with sincere curiosity.

"Well, my mother was able to quit her job after my father died, as he had a relatively large pension as well as life insurance. She has since started her own business selling quilts on consignment in several small shops around Galveston. She seems to be quite happy doing so. Missy is still hostessing at Fuddruckers and she has a new beau who seems to be even less intellectually inclined than any of her previous suitors. My brother, whom you have never been acquainted with, is a short-haul trucker and still lives with our mother. Meemaw has been doing better as of late. The cancer had really been rough on her, but she seems to be bouncing back. She looked a lot healthier when I saw her last weekend. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to eat my lunch. Meemaw made me cookies."

"Oh, of course. Actually, I'm getting hungry too. Is there somewhere around here I can get a sandwich or something?"

"There is a small cafeteria on the main floor. I'll show you."

Sheldon led the way downstairs, Penny bought herself a wrap and a drink, and then they made their way up to Sheldon's office to eat. A couple of minutes after they sat down, Josie poked her head into the room.

"Dr. Cooper," she began, and then said, "Oh!" upon seeing Penny sitting across from him.

Sheldon commenced with introductions. "Penny this is Josie, she works in the Physics department office, and was the one who organized today's lecture. Josie, this is my friend Penny from Pasadena."

Josie took a step into the room and shook Penny's hand. "Nice to meet you," she said cheerily.

"You too," Penny smiled warmly.

"Wait, Penny. You're the one who sends him lolcats, right?"

"Uh, yeah," she answered, a little confused.

"Well, I'll just talk to you on Monday Dr. Cooper." Josie gave a little wave and then turned and left the room.

Sheldon got up from his chair and walked around his desk. As he was closing the door, Penny asked, "Hey _Dr. Cooper_, how does Josie know I sent you a lolcat?" Before Sheldon could answer, she saw it. Taped up to the back of his office door was a picture of a cat sitting in a box; the same one she had emailed to him. "Aww! You put it up on your door? I'm glad you like it! I thought maybe you were mad at me for sending it to you."

"No, I'm not mad," he half smiled, half glared at her, "but don't make a habit of it."

Penny held up her hand to make a pledge. "I promise."

Sheldon sat back down and pulled a Ziploc baggie of cookies out of his lunch bag. He took a bite of one of them. Penny noticed that there were still two left.

"Sheldon?" she asked while batting her eyelashes. "Can I have one of those?"

"No," he told her, devoid of sympathy.

"Please?" she made puppy dog eyes at him and he cracked.

"Fine," he sighed as if it were some great sacrifice.

Penny clapped her hands together like a child and took the cookie he handed to her.

On the walk to Sheldon's apartment, Penny apologized for showing up out of the blue. "I know you have a tiny apartment, and you don't like having your schedule disrupted, but this trip was kind of a last minute thing and I didn't book anywhere to stay."

"Don't fret about it, Penny. You gave me sanctuary when I accidentally locked myself out of my apartment, so consider the favour returned."

Penny smiled and they walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence.

When they reached the apartment, Sheldon walked into the kitchen to get them each a can of diet coke. Penny sat down on the love seat, and as Sheldon walked back into the living room and set the cans onto coasters on the coffee table, he gave her a look of disapproval. Penny shifted over to the other cushion and Sheldon took a seat in the spot Penny had just vacated.

After a moment of quiet contemplation Sheldon shifted his body towards Penny's. "How are things back in Pasadena?" he asked her.

"Oh." Penny seemed a little taken aback by the question. From anyone else this question would be commonplace, expected. But with Sheldon it was unusual, because if something didn't concern him, he usually wasn't interested. And he certainly wasn't one for small talk.

"Things are okay, I guess. Nothing's really changed. I'm still working at the Cheesecake Factory and going to auditions. Howard is still a letch, Raj is still mute, and Leonard is fine."

At the mention of Leonard's name, Sheldon's eyes seemed to get darker. When he spoke his voice was deeper than normal. "You and he are still romantically involved?"

"Yes, Sheldon. Leonard is still my boyfriend. I never understood why you were so weird about us being together."

Sheldon's eye twitched, but he offered up no explanation.

"Do you miss California?" she asked him, her voice soft.

"Actually," he told her, "I regret ever moving to Pasadena. I think accepting the job at CalTech was a huge mistake." His internal monologue continued the thought that he did not voice: _Because if I hadn't moved to California I would not have met you, and the thought of you would not interfere with my research and cost me a chance at the Nobel Prize. _

That evening they ordered a pizza and watched sci-fi movies. Penny changed into her pyjamas to get more comfortable and fell asleep halfway through Return of the Jedi, her head falling onto Sheldon's shoulder. When the movie ended, Sheldon manoeuvred himself out from under Penny and lowered her gently so she way lying down, then he placed a pillow underneath her head. He went to the linen closet in the hall, pulled out one of the quilts his mother had made, and draped it over Penny. He tucked it in around her and lightly brushed her hair behind her ear. He looked longingly at her face as she slept and ran his fingers along her jaw line. She stirred and snuggled deeper under the quilt, but did not wake.


	6. 6 The Preadolescent Ambuscade

Penny awoke the next morning to the smell of coffee and pancakes. She sat up and felt a little stiff from sleeping on such a short piece of furniture, but she had fallen asleep on her own tiny couch enough times that she was used to it. She looked at the quilt that had been covering her and her heart swelled at the thought that Sheldon had tucked her in last night. She stood up and wandered into the kitchen to find Sheldon standing at the stove, spatula in hand. He turned around when he heard her footsteps.

"Good morning Penny. I hope you slept well."

"Yeah, I did. Thanks." She smiled at him in a dopey, half-awake kind of way. Sheldon poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her. "I thought you didn't drink coffee," she told him and took a sip from the steaming mug.

"I don't." He went back to the stove to flip over the pancakes he was cooking.

"So…why do you have a coffeemaker?"

"I know you rely on caffeine in the morning, so I went over to my next-door-neighbour's apartment before you woke up and asked to borrow his coffeemaker."

"Aww, Sweetie! You didn't have to do that." She was touched that Sheldon had gone to the trouble of bothering his neighbours just to get her coffee, but at the same time her heart felt like it had dropped into her stomach at his using the phrase 'next-door-neighbour' in reference to someone other than her.

"I know I didn't _have_ to do it, I wanted to because I knew it would make you happy."

Penny stood on her tiptoes and kissed Sheldon on the cheek. "Do you mind if I take a quick shower?" she asked.

"Towels are in the closet next to the bathroom," he told her in response.

As Penny walked down the hall she called back, "Keep a few of those pancakes warm for me. They smell delicious!"

She grabbed a towel and went into the bathroom. As she hung it up on the hook attached to the back of the door, the smell of soap and fabric softener made her pause. She buried her nose in the towel to inhale the same scent that still lingered in the vacant room in apartment 4A.

Since Sheldon left California, Leonard hadn't bothered getting a new roommate. So the room that had been Sheldon's now sat unused, except for the rare occasion that Leonard would have a guest spend the night. There had been a brief discussion about Penny moving in and giving up her apartment to cut down on the cost of rent, but Penny was adamant about keeping her own space and she wasn't sure that their relationship was strong enough to handle them living together yet. So most of the time the room sat empty and the door remained closed; but on occasion, if Penny were sad, or lonely, or bored, and Leonard was away from the apartment, she would let herself in and just sit and contemplate and take in deep breaths of the fading scent of the room's former resident.

After her shower, Penny dressed and went back into the kitchen to find a plate stacked high with pancakes. She took a seat across from Sheldon at the tiny kitchen table. "So what are your plans for today?" she asked him and then took a bite of pancake. "Mm, this is really good!"

"Thank you, and I have no plans for today. As I said yesterday, I normally visit my family on weekends, but stayed in Houston this week due to the lecture I was obliged to give. I do not have an alternative weekend routine. Was there something you wanted to do together?"

"Yeah, let's do something fun! Is there anything you used to do with the guys that you haven't gotten to do since you moved here?"

"Well, online games don't require players to be in proximity to each other, most video games can be played single-player, reading comic books and watching sci-fi TV shows and movies can all be done by oneself." He paused and looked to the ceiling in contemplation. "I do miss paintball."

"Great! Let's do that!" she said with enthusiasm, then narrowed her eyes and added, "You're not allowed to kill me though, okay?"

"Agreed."

After the paintball game, Sheldon and Penny stepped off the bus and walked the few remaining blocks to Sheldon's apartment.

"I never knew ten-year-olds could be so vicious!" Penny exclaimed while picking at her hair, which was globbed together with blue paint. "That little girl got you good!" She laughed and looked up at Sheldon, who had a large splatter across the left side of his face.

Sheldon shot her a disgruntled look. "I was ambushed!" he said in defense. "Plus, she used her innocent appearance to lull me into a false sense of security. Those pigtails were a tactical manoeuvre."

Penny patted him on the arm to placate him, "Whatever you say, Sweetie."

They reached the apartment and Penny went into the bathroom to wash the paint out of her hair. When she came back into the living room, Sheldon had already scrubbed the paint from his face and was holding out a bottle of water for her. She reached for it, her fingers brushing against his for a brief moment, and she took a swig. They sat down next to each other and for a moment both stared silently at their reflections in the television screen. Penny eventually cleared her throat and said, "It's starting to get late; I need to catch my flight."

"Mm, yes. I suppose you should leave. I'll call a cab for you."

As Sheldon was making the phone call, Penny gathered up her things and closed the zipper on her suitcase. He walked her downstairs and stood with her to wait for the taxi.

"Thank you for coming to visit me Penny," he said quietly, while looking up into the treetops. "It means a lot to me."

Penny's heart constricted in her chest and before she realized what she was doing, her hands were cupping his face and her lips were pressed firmly against his. At first he pressed his lips into hers with just as much fervour, but a few seconds later he grabbed her by the wrists and gently pushed her away. Penny was thoroughly confused by his actions, but she wasn't given time to figure out what had happened. Sheldon whispered, "Goodbye Penny," and she saw his figure retreat back into the apartment building, while the taxi sat idling at the sidewalk next to her.

Penny spent the taxi ride to the airport and then the flight back home in a kind of stupor. She felt completely numb, and wasn't able to focus her mind on anything. It wasn't until she had unlocked her door, dropped her suitcase on the floor and fallen onto her tiny sofa that she broke down. The past two days replayed in her mind as if on fast-forward. She saw him give his lecture, unseen from the back of the room. She sat next to him in his apartment, nodding off, watching Luke Skywalker conversing with Yoda. She covered him as he marched out to battle a birthday party's worth of preadolescent kids. And then the memories slowed down and came to a full stop when her lips touched his. It had been such a wonderful weekend. She had been missing Sheldon so much that it felt great just to see him, but then she had to go and screw everything up by kissing him. Now she'd probably never see him again.

Penny let out a huge sob and her breath caught when she tried to inhale. She screwed her eyes shut tight and sank down deeper into the couch. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and balled her hands into fists. That's when she heard a knock at her door.

Leonard let himself in without waiting for a response. "Hey, I heard you get in and I thought I'd come over and…" he paused when he saw her curled into a ball, eyes red-rimmed and tears streaking her face. "Oh God. Penny, what's wrong?"

Penny had to sob a few more times before she was able to speak. Once she could get actual words out, they were lies. "I got into a huge fight with my sister," she told him between sniffles.

Leonard sat down next to her and put an arm around her in consolation. "Aw, Honey, that sucks. But I'm sure it'll all blow over."

"Not this time," Penny responded so quietly that she wasn't sure Leonard could even hear her.

---

A/N: Hi all! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for following the story. I really appreciate all of the wonderful reviews both here and at Paradox! Also, my appologies for ending this chapter on such an angsty note. It will get happier, I promise!


	7. 7 The Bedside Requisition

Sheldon felt horrible about what had happened with Penny. She'd taken time and spent money to come and see him. He hadn't wanted things to turn out this way. But he couldn't just let her stand there and kiss him. It wasn't that he didn't want her to kiss him; in fact he was loath to admit how much he actually did want it. But she was Leonard's girlfriend. Besides, he couldn't be with her even if she were romantically unattached. She had this way of making him feel stupid, and there was no possible way that Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Ph.D. could be anything less than genius. He couldn't afford the distraction. It had been his dream for as long as he could remember to win the Nobel Prize. It would take all of his concentration and dedication; he had no time to waste on insignificant things like personal relationships. So after Penny left, Sheldon felt it best to let things remain the way they were. He did not call her or email her, and luckily she did not try to get in contact with him. He thought that would be the end of his problems. He was wrong.

Time passed; days, weeks, months. He couldn't get her off of his mind, no matter what he tried, no matter how much time went by. The thoughts of her were obsessive, intrusive and completely unavoidable. He had run so far away, but still he could not outrun his love for her. And he finally realized that it was indeed love that he felt.

One weekend, while he was in Galveston visiting his family as usual, his mother sat him down and asked, "Is everything okay with you, Snickerdoodle?"

Sheldon looked at her with confusion. "To what are you referring?"

"You don't look like you've been getting much sleep, and I don't think you're eating right either. Are you having problems at work? Is somebody picking on you?"

"Mom!" Sheldon whined, "I'm not in elementary school!"

"So everything's okay at work then?" Mary Cooper asked him.

"Well, no actually. I've been having trouble concentrating on my research. I haven't made any headway in months."

"What's bothering you Shelly?" she asked with concern.

Sheldon's eye twitched and he managed to squeak out a "nothing."

"Come on now, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

So Sheldon told her everything. He explained about Penny coming to visit, about the ill-fated kiss, and his unrelenting thoughts. When he finished she sat in silence for a moment before nodding her head and smiling. "My little Shelly's in love," she said simply. Sheldon opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get the words out, the truth of her statement smacked him right between the eyes.

"What do I do?" he whispered.

"Tell her."

"I can't do that! I haven't spoken to her in several months! She won't want to talk to me."

"Well, that might be true, but you don't know until you try. And judging by what you told me just now, that little girl must've been just crazy about you too. She deserves to know how you feel, you owe her at least that much."

Sheldon nodded, his mind swirling with possible conclusions to different scenarios.

He took the bus back home that evening. When he entered his apartment, he went into his bedroom, turned on the lights and flopped down onto his bed. Then the cell phone in his pocket rang.

"Hello?" he said without looking to see who was calling.

"Shelly, it's your Mama. I'm at the hospital."

Sheldon scrambled to sit upright.

"It's Meemaw," she continued. "She's, uh, she's not doin' too good Shelly."

"Mommy? What's wrong? Should I come back?" he asked, his voice rising to a higher pitch.

"No, no, you have to get to work tomorrow. I'll give you a call in the morning and let you know how things are going."

"Is she going to be okay?" Sheldon's eyes began to water and he fought to keep the tears from spilling over.

"I don't know, Snickerdoodle. It's too early to tell. The doctors are doing tests right now. I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Okay, good night Mom." Sheldon hung up the call and dropped his phone on the bed. He slumped over, his hands cradling his head, and let the tears fall.

The week passed in a bit of a haze. Sheldon's mother called him every night to keep him apprised of his Grandmother's condition, but things were not sounding good. On Friday he got on a bus directly after work and headed to Galveston. His mother picked him up from the bus station and drove to Lawrence Memorial.

When Sheldon entered his Grandmother's hospital room she was sitting up in bed. She gave him a huge smile and said, "There's my little Moonpie!"

"Hi Meemaw," Sheldon went over to her bed and wrapped his arms around her. She felt thin and frail. He took a seat next to her and noticed that her skin looked sallow and the lines on her face looked deeper than they ever had. Sheldon's bottom lip began to quiver and his eyes brimmed with tears, but her refused to cry in front of her.

She reached out to pat his hand and said, "It's okay, Shelly."

He spent the entire weekend by her bedside. On Sunday afternoon, not long before Sheldon was to head back to Houston, his Meemaw took one of his hands in both of her own. "I want you to do something for me Moonpie," she said. Sheldon nodded. "I want you to go out and find yourself a nice girl. Then I want you to bring her back to meet your Mama. Can you do that for me?"

Sheldon nodded and leaned down to embrace her. "I promise," he whispered in her ear.

On Monday morning it suddenly struck Sheldon that the excuse he had initially given for moving back to Texas had become his real reason for staying. Before his mother had called him with the bad news a week earlier, he had begun to make plans to go back to Pasadena. There was no way he could go back now; he couldn't leave while Meemaw was so sick.

Around noon his cell rang. He picked it up off of his desk and looked at the number. It was his mother, which struck his as odd, as she knew he would be at work at this time and always called in the evening.

"Mom?"

He heard a sniffle and then, "Shelly, Meemaw's passed."

There was silence for a moment and then Sheldon composed himself enough to say, "I'll be there as soon as I can."

He hung up the call, grabbed his jacket and headed out of the building. As he was going through the front door, he made an abrupt turn and instead went to the physics office. Josie looked up from a pile of paperwork when Sheldon entered.

"Dr. Cooper?"

"Josie, I'm going to be taking the rest of the week off, could you please inform my colleagues?"

"Umm, yes of course." She paused. "I'm sorry, but I am going to need a reason."

"My grandmother just passed away and I need to be with my family."

Josie looked up at him with sympathy. "Oh, Dr. Cooper, I'm so sorry to hear that."

Sheldon nodded, said a quiet, "Thank you," and left.

Once Sheldon was in his seat and the bus was speeding down the highway, he let himself go. His whole body shook as he sobbed, drawing strange looks from the other passengers. He cried for the loss of his beloved grandmother, but also for the loss of the only girl he had ever loved. He feared that he would be unable to fulfill his Meemaw's final request, but as the miles passed, this fear began to grow into determination.

He spent the week helping his mother and sister plan for the funeral. It was held on Saturday afternoon. Everyone cried, but no one was affected by the loss quite as much as Sheldon was. She had been his Meemaw and he was her Moonpie. She held a special place in his heart that no one else had ever been able to fill. Now she was gone. But Sheldon did not let grief take over; he had been given a mission and he was determined to succeed.

A week later all of his belongings had been packed up, instructions had been given to his mother to ship the boxes once things were settled, and Sheldon got on a plane bound for California.


	8. 8 The Homecoming Paradigm

Not long after Penny returned from her impromptu trip to Houston, she realized that she was stuck in a rut. Every part of her life was unmoving, and it was depressing to think that things would never change, never get better. She had moved to California to become an actress, but the only acting gigs she had gotten were roles in a few small plays. She couldn't survive being a waitress for the rest of her life. So she took out a loan, quit her job at the Cheesecake Factory, and attended a six-month diploma program in administrative support. After receiving her diploma she got a job working as a secretary for a casting agency. Now everyday she saw beautiful girls getting cast in roles on commercials and in televisions shows that she knew she would be perfect for. Sometimes when these girls came in for auditions, one would come up to her desk and say, "You are so pretty, you should totally be an actress!" Penny would smile and say thank you, but each time it happened her soul died just a little bit. She was disappointed in herself for giving up on her dream, but she knew she had been right in deciding to train for and take a job that was consistent and that paid decently.

On one particular day she was directing a six-foot tall blonde with perfect skin into her audition. The blonde said, "Have you ever considered acting? You have the perfect look. I'm sure you'd be great at it, and you'd probably get a part right away."

Penny clenched her jaw and forced a smile, but said nothing.

As she drove home that evening she started to seriously consider quitting her job. She had gotten her diploma in order to start a career that would get her away from the acting world, yet she seemed to be getting her failures thrown back in her face every single day.

She parked her car, and as she climbed the stairs to the fourth floor she was thinking about opening the bottle of wine that was sitting on her kitchen counter, and watching one of the movies she had rented the previous day. She was debating the pros and cons of both movies in her head as she inserted her key into the lock on 4B's door. That was when she heard someone say her name. She jumped, being unaware that anyone else was on the landing. She turned her head in the direction the voice had come from and saw Sheldon stand from where he had been sitting on the staircase next to her door. Penny's heart leapt into her throat. Then she started to panic. She turned the key, turned the doorknob, and ran into her apartment, slamming the door behind her. Her heart was pounding so hard that she could hear it ringing in her ears. It had been nearly a year since she had seen Sheldon; nearly a year since she had recklessly kissed him and he had pushed her away. So why was he outside her door right now? It was too late to question him, she had just acted like a complete idiot; there was no way she could face him after that.

Knock, knock, knock. "Penny."

She scrunched her eyes closed as tight as she could and willed herself not to open the door.

Knock, knock, knock. "Penny."

Penny sighed heavily and placed her palm flat against the door.

Knock, knock, knock. "Penny."

"Sheldon, please, just go away."

"But Penny—"

"Please."

She heard him move away from the door and sit back down on the stairs. Penny went and poured herself a glass of wine, and then she sat down on the sofa in her tiny apartment and waited to hear what Sheldon would do. There was no noise from out in the hallway for about half an hour, then she heard footsteps coming up the staircase and Leonard's surprised voice. She couldn't make out the conversation, but she picked up on the fact that Leonard had invited Sheldon into his apartment. After a couple more glasses of wine, Penny stripped down to her tank top and panties and fell into bed.

When Penny woke in the morning, she slipped into a pair of shorts, stumbled to the kitchen and blearily grumbled when she realized she was out of coffee. She grabbed a mug off of the shelf, padded across the hall and entered Leonard's apartment without knocking. Halfway to the kitchen she stopped dead. Sheldon had appeared at the entrance to the hallway wearing a pair of plaid pyjamas and matching robe.

"Good morning," he said tentatively.

"Morning," she drew out the word as if she wasn't sure if she should be allowed to speak or not.

"I'm sorry to have frightened you yesterday. I did not mean to."

"Oh, um, that's okay." Penny tried to end the awkward conversation by walking over to the counter and pouring herself some coffee. She turned around and almost spilled the hot coffee on herself. Sheldon was standing right next to her, invading her personal space.

"I also want to apologize for what happened between us when you came to visit me in Houston," he told her. "I acted in an ungentlemanly fashion; I hope you can forgive me."

"What happened between the two of you in Houston?" Leonard asked, coming around the corner. He was wearing his old red bathrobe and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He put on his glasses and addressed Penny directly, "And when did you go to Houston?"

"I, uhm…" Penny stuttered, taken by surprise, "almost a year ago."

Leonard looked confused. "Back when we were together? Why didn't you tell me?"

"The two of you are no longer a couple?" Sheldon interrupted.

"No, we broke up in…December, I think. Why didn't you tell me you went to Houston?" Leonard asked again.

Penny wasn't sure what to say. "I don't…I don't know."

Leonard looked suspiciously between Penny and Sheldon. "I think I might know," he said.

"You want to let us in on it?" Penny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nah, I think I'm just going to let you figure it out for yourselves." He went to the counter to pour himself some coffee. "I kind of want to see how this is going to play out," he smirked to himself.

Sheldon went and sat down in his spot on the couch as if he had never been gone. Penny sat in the chair next to him and they watched television in silence while Leonard got ready for work. A couple of minutes after Leonard left, Sheldon switched off the TV and turned to face Penny.

"Penny, I am not an impetuous person. Everything I do is thoroughly planned out and I do not allow myself to act in irrational ways." Sheldon paused to collect his thoughts. "I could not allow you to kiss me because—"

Penny cut him off, "Sheldon, I don't want to talk about this."

"_Because_," he went on, "if I had continued to allow you to do so I would have been betraying Leonard, with whom you were at that time involved. Also, I feared that I would become too emotionally attached to you and would not be able to focus on my work."

"Sheldon," Penny breathed.

"Ironically, despite our lack of romantic involvement, I have found myself unable to focus on much of anything besides yourself."

Penny took a deep breath and ignored the meaning behind Sheldon's words. "Sheldon, what are you doing back in Pasadena?"

"I am moving back. I discussed this with Leonard last night and he has agreed to allow me move back into my old room. I am doubtful about getting my old job at CalTech back, but it is not the only university in the greater Los Angeles area."

"Sheldon, honey, what about your family? I thought you moved back to Texas to be near them."

Sheldon nodded and said solemnly, "I went back home, in part, because Meemaw was ill. She passed away a few weeks ago."

"Oh, Sweetie!" Penny got up from her chair, sat next to Sheldon on the couch, and took his hand in hers.

"Besides," he added, placing his other hand on top of hers, "Houston never felt like home to me."

Penny looked up into Sheldon's clear blue eyes. "Welcome home," she told him with a bright smile.


	9. 9 The Herbal Tea Brewing Endeavour

Penny had left to go to work later that morning. Sheldon spent the day unpacking and alphabetizing. In the evening, Raj and Howard came back to the apartment with Leonard. Raj gave Sheldon a big pat on the back to welcome him home and said, "It's good to see you!"

Howard shook Sheldon's hand and said, "It's good to have you back, buddy. It was pretty boring here without you."

"Thank you Wolowitz," Sheldon responded, "I have missed your company as well."

The guys spent the next couple of hours catching up on what had happened in their lives over the past year. Sheldon told them all about Houston and his family, and they all respectfully stayed silent as he told them about his beloved Meemaw's passing. Raj told Sheldon about the comet he had discovered a couple of months ago, and about how he had started to go to therapy once a week to overcome his shyness and inability to speak to women. Howard explained that he had finally moved out of his mother's house and was pursuing a woman who lived a couple of floors down from him in his new apartment building.

Penny walked through the door just as the guys were starting to eat. She grinned as she saw her four boys sitting around the coffee table. Things were back to the way they were meant to be.

Raj waved at her and said, "Hi!" which caused Sheldon to grin with pride at the progression in his friend's social skills. Howard moved to the end of the couch, allowing Penny to take the middle cushion, which put her next to Sheldon. Sheldon noticed that Howard did this without so much as a leer in Penny's direction. Things had changed while Sheldon had been away, and so far as he could tell, things had changed for the better. But he had changed too; he was (slightly) less rigid than he had been, more willing to accept that he could not control every situation, and he was in love.

After Howard and Raj left, Penny stayed to help Leonard and Sheldon clean up.

"Sheldon?" Penny asked as she threw empty take-out cartons into the trash, "Can you come over to my apartment with me for a bit? I want to talk to you about something."

Sheldon dried and put away the last of the cutlery. "Okay," he said and walked with her toward the door.

"Have a good night you two!" Leonard called after them, a smirk upon his lips.

They crossed the hall and entered Penny's apartment. She closed the door behind them, looked up at Sheldon and smiled.

Sheldon put his hand to his cheek and said, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

Penny laughed. "No, Sweetie. It's nothing. Do you want some herbal tea?"

"Yes, please. With honey if you have some."

Penny went into the kitchen and filled the kettle. "So what are you going to do about work?" she called to him as he crossed over to the couch and sat down.

"An acquaintance of mine works at UCLA. I have already contacted him and he said that they should be able to create a position for me. He also lives in Pasadena and has agreed to drive me there and back."

"Oh, Sweetie, that's so great!"

"On the topic of employment," Sheldon continued, "Leonard informed me last night that you no longer work at the Cheesecake Factory. Also, you've stopped acting?"

"Yeah, well I wasn't getting anywhere with acting," Penny replied, throwing a teabag into a mug. "I figured my time would be better spent actually making money. I hated being in debt all the time."

Sheldon stood up and walked behind the island to stand next to Penny. He took the kettle and poured the boiling water into the mugs. "That's very prudent of you. Though I wonder…is the monetary gain worth the sacrifice of giving up your dreams?"

"I…Sheldon, that's not the point. I didn't have a choice. I can't spend my entire life being broke. I work a nine to five job now; there's no way I could make it to auditions."

"But if acting is something you love doing, shouldn't you do it just for the love of acting and not to make a living?" Sheldon turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Sheldon Cooper, I never would have thought you would be the one to encourage me to be an actress," she cocked her head to the side and grinned up at him.

"I understand that you want to be financially secure, but I also want you to be happy. If acting makes you happy, I think that's what you should do."

"Aww, Honey, you are so sweet." She pushed herself up onto the tips of her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Penny and Sheldon stood very close to each other, Sheldon's blue eyes boring into Penny's green ones. Sheldon hesitantly put his hand around to the small of Penny's back and applied pressure. She took a step toward him, closing the small gap between their bodies. He bent down and gently pressed his lips to hers. Penny's hands wound themselves into his hair as she intensified the kiss. After a moment she pulled away, breathing heavily.

"I've missed you so much," she whispered.

Sheldon captured her mouth once again, and then Penny grabbed the front of his shirt and began to pull him across the apartment, the tea sitting on the counter completely forgotten. They manoeuvred around the sofa and ended up in Penny's bedroom. The backs of Sheldon's knees hit the edge of the bed and before he knew what had happened, his butt was sinking into the mattress and Penny was straddling his lap. She pulled away from Sheldon and grabbed the hem of her top. She was about to pull it up and over her head when Sheldon wrapped his fingers around her wrists and held them in place.

"Penny…" he said hesitantly, "I do not want to insult you, but can we slow down? I really hope you don't think that intercourse is the primary reason for my being here. Not that I'm opposed to it; in fact I'm hopeful that there will be many opportunities for that in the future. But just for now, would it be alright if we refrained?"

Penny was frozen for a moment while Sheldon's words sunk in. She relaxed her body and leaned into him. "Of course it's alright. I'm sorry for rushing things. I'm so used to guys only wanting sex; I forgot for a moment that you aren't a normal guy."

"I suppose I'll take that as a compliment."

She chuckled into his shoulder. "You should. Also, I haven't had sex in such a long time. I haven't slept with anyone since I broke up with Leonard, and that happened a week or two after I got back from Houston. That was about eleven months ago. I haven't gone that long without sex since I was sixteen."

"You're the one who broke off the relationship with Leonard?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I realized that I wasn't in love with him and I never had been, so I ended it."

After a pause Sheldon told her, "I promise not to keep you waiting too long; however, I implore you to not place too high of an expectation on my abilities."

Penny pushed Sheldon onto his back. She leaned over him and her hair fell down, forming a golden curtain around her face. "Sheldon, you could never disappoint me." She gave him a quick kiss, then snuggled up next to him, placing her cheek against his chest. He rolled over slightly to wrap his arms around her and something on her night table caught his eye.

"Penny?" She responded by sighing with an upturned inflection. "Why do you have a piece of a DNA model on your nightstand?"

"Oh, I, uh, I found it under your bed the day after you left Pasadena. I kept it because whenever I looked at it, it reminded me of you."

They stayed silent for a few minutes, Sheldon rubbing small circles on Penny's upper arm with his thumb while she listened to the sound of his heart beating.

Penny's voice was small when she spoke, "Will you stay the night?" She tilted her head up to look into his eyes.

He smiled down at her and held her tighter. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."


	10. 10 The Amorous Declaration Circumstance

Over the past couple of months Penny and Sheldon had gotten to know each other again. They now knew each other much better and much more intimately than they ever had before, and neither one of them had ever been happier. Due to this, Sheldon had become very productive at work and had made great strides in his research. Penny, with Sheldon's encouragement, had joined a local theatre company and was due to perform in a production of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in a few weeks time. She had been cast as the Queen of Hearts.

On a Monday evening after work, Penny entered Sheldon and Leonard's apartment and took a seat next to Sheldon. She gave him a peck on the cheek and he handed her a takeout container.

"Hey, how about a little kiss for me?" Howard asked teasingly.

Penny turned her head to the right and glared at him for a moment before shouting, "Off with his head!"

Everyone ignored the exchange, as Penny had taken to shouting this phrase at every opportunity.

"I got a call from Missy this afternoon," Sheldon told Penny nonchalantly.

"Oh, how is she doing?" Penny asked.

"She's doing well it seems. She's getting married next month."

Raj looked dejectedly down into his noodles.

"What? That's awesome!" Penny clutched at Sheldon's arm. "Aren't you happy for your sister?"

"I suppose if she's content with the decision then I should be as well."

"But you're not?"

"You've never met her fiancé. As my mother would say: he's a couple sandwiches short of a picnic."

Penny giggled. "Sheldon, you can't disapprove of this guy just because he's not as smart as you!"

"Well of course he isn't, Penny. No one is as intelligent as I am."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You know what I mean. If he makes her happy, that should be all that matters, right?"

Sheldon looked into her eyes and a smile spread across his lips. "Yes, you are correct."

Leonard made fake gagging noises at the two of them making eyes at each other. Penny and Sheldon both looked at him in annoyance and Penny shouted, "Off with his head!" Leonard smiled innocently.

"Anyway," Sheldon said, bringing the subject back to the impending wedding, "Missy has asked me to be a groomsman. Would you like to accompany me to the wedding, Penny?"

"Oh, yay! Of course I would! I love weddings! When is it?"

"It's on March 12th. Shall I purchase our plane tickets for the 11th?"

"Okay, just make sure we'll be back for the 15th; my dress rehearsal is the next day and the first performance is the day after that."

"Of course, I'll book our flight now." Sheldon lifted his laptop from the coffee table and began typing away. "Do you want a window seat or the isle?"

"Window please. I love looking out at all the tiny cars zooming along the tiny roads."

"Penny, you do realize that the cars and roads aren't actually tiny, don't you?"

"Oh my god, Sheldon. How big of a moron do you think I am?" Pause. "Don't answer that. Yes I know they aren't actually tiny."

A devious smile spread across Sheldon's face. "That was a joke, Penny. Though I guess it doesn't hurt to verify the level of your intelligence every once in a while."

She slapped him on the arm and began to pout.

He chuckled and said, "Here, let me make it better." Then he leaned in and kissed her deeply. He had learned early on in this relationship that if he realized he had done something to annoy Penny, all he had to do was kiss her like this and she wouldn't be upset anymore. Penny, however, took advantage of this technique. She realized right away what he was doing and would at times act annoyed just to make him kiss her.

When they pulled away from each other, they saw the other three looking at them and making the same fake gagging noise that Leonard had made earlier. Sheldon took Penny by the hand and led her to the door. "Let's go to your apartment," he whispered. Just as Sheldon was closing the door behind them, Penny shouted, "Off with their heads!" in the boys' direction.

They arrived in Galveston early in the afternoon the day before the wedding. Mary met them at the airport, giving first Sheldon and then Penny, a huge hug.

"It's good to see you, Penny. I'm glad that you could come out here with Shelly. I actually didn't expect him to bring a date, he's never had too many female friends…or friends at all, really."

"Mom!" Sheldon furrowed his brow in irritation.

"Well, I'd be lyin' if I said otherwise."

"Actually," Penny said, linking her arm through Sheldon's, "I'm not just his friend, I'm his girlfriend."

Mary Cooper's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Then she smiled. "That's my boy," she said, whacking him on the shoulder. Sheldon couldn't help but smile with pride.

The wedding was beautiful. Missy got married under an arch in a beautiful park near her house. What Sheldon had said about the man Missy was marrying was more or less the truth; the guy didn't have a lot going on upstairs, but Penny could tell by the way Missy looked at him, that his lack of smarts didn't matter to her in the least. After dinner, a dance floor was set up on a large patch of grass. Just as the light was beginning to fade Missy and her new husband took to the floor for their first dance. When the MC invited the guests to join the newlyweds, Sheldon extended his hand to Penny. She took it without a word and let him lead her out onto the floor. She rested her head against his chest and swayed with him in time to the music.

"I'm surprised you're so good at this," she told him after a couple of minutes.

"You shouldn't be. I'm a physicist, I can do anything," he said with his usual smugness.

"You can't beat me at Halo, you couldn't win the Physics bowl, you couldn't fix Howard's killer robot, you don't know how to swim—"

He cut her off, "I do too know how to swim!"

"Floor swimming doesn't count, Sweetie." She laughed when she felt his chest rise and fall with a sigh of annoyance. "But none of that matters, I love you because you _aren't_ perfect."

Sheldon stopped dancing and backed away from Penny so that he could look into her eyes. "You love me?"

Her face softened and she smiled. "Very much."

"I love you too." He pulled her back to his chest.

"I know, but it feels really good to hear you say it."

"I love you," he repeated.

She pushed herself up on the tips of her toes and kissed Sheldon in front of his entire family. Whoops and cheers rang out across the park, the loudest of which came from Sheldon's mother and sister.


	11. 11 The Absent Patron Conundrum

Sheldon and Penny landed back in Pasadena a couple of days after the wedding. They got in late in the evening, and instead of allowing Sheldon to go home and unpack, Penny pulled him into her apartment under the pretense of not wanting to bother Leonard.

While they were in Texas they had stayed with Sheldon's mother. She was a very religious woman and was opposed to the idea of two unmarried young people sharing a bedroom. So Sheldon had slept in his childhood bedroom and Penny had stayed in the room that had once been Missy's. This did not, however, stop Penny from creeping down the hallway once Mary went to bed, in order to snuggle with Sheldon.

Now that they were home and there were no parents in sight, Penny wanted to let Sheldon know just how much hearing him tell her he loved her meant to her.

"Penny, I really do need to unpack. I'm sure Leonard won't mind me coming home at this hour; I'm really fairly quiet. If I leave my dirty clothes in the bag overnight it will cause the bacteria on them to multiply. They need to be put in a hamper."

Penny didn't say anything. She walked up to him, pulled the bag from his hand and dropped it on the floor. Sheldon opened his mouth to protest, but Penny put her arms around his back and slid them up under his shirt. She leaned into him and looked up into his eyes, smirking. "Oh," he said, and the bag of clothes was promptly forgotten.

"I love you," she told him and stretched up to kiss him.

"_I_ love _you_," he said.

She turned and started walking towards her bedroom. She looked back over her shoulder and beckoned him to follow her by curling her finger. He complied.

In her bedroom, Sheldon leaned down to kiss Penny. Before his lips could touch hers, she put her hands to his chest and pushed him down onto the bed, taking control of the situation. She tore her top up over her head and climbed on top of Sheldon.

Since he had come back to Pasadena and they had finally admitted their feelings to each other, they had slept together many times. At first Sheldon had been inexperienced, but he was a quick learner and he now knew exactly what to do to make Penny feel amazing. He was gentle and attentive, and exactly what Penny needed him to be.

Tonight, however, Penny needed passion. It had been a few days since they had been able to have sex and she was starting to feel pent up. Sheldon saw the smoldering look in her eyes and mirrored it. He grabbed her around the waist and flipped her onto the bed. He bent over her and captured her lips in his own and Penny's hands came up to pull his shirts up and over his head. Their pants were quickly removed and thrown to the floor. They made love frantically and desperately, collapsing upon each other when it was over.

Penny sighed and leaned her head against Sheldon's chest. "A few days without sex and I almost can't handle it. I don't know how I ever survived without this for so long. How I survived without you. While you were living in Texas I was miserable."

"Well, you can't blame me for your lack of a sex life while I wasn't here. I treated you horribly when you came to visit me and I wouldn't have blamed you should you have sought comfort from another man."

Penny patted Sheldon on the tummy. "No, sweetie, I don't mean I was miserable because I wasn't having sex—though I wasn't exactly happy about that—I meant I was miserable because you weren't here. I missed you so much it hurt."

Sheldon pulled her tight to his chest and whispered, "Then I'll never leave you again."

"I'm going to hold you to that," she replied.

The next day was the dress rehearsal for 'Alice'. It went horribly. Penny ripped her costume, flubbed half of her lines and managed to accidentally knock part of the set over. Someone joked that due entirely to Penny, the opening night was going to be amazing.

Penny told this to Sheldon that evening. "But Penny, your inability to memorize your lines and your lack of coordination would indicate that the opening night will not go well at all."

Penny shook her head, "No, Sweetie, it's a superstition in the theatre that if the dress rehearsal goes poorly, then the opening night will go well."

"Oh, I see," he nodded in understanding.

They were sitting next to each other on Penny's couch watching TV. Penny had her legs tucked up underneath her and her head was resting on Sheldon's shoulder. Sheldon had his arm wrapped around Penny, with his hand resting on her hip. She stretched up and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm going to bed," she told him. "I have to get up early to go into work so I can leave early to get to the theatre on time."

"Okay, I'll be right in," he said as she walked toward her bedroom. Sheldon turned off the TV and straightened up the living room. He grabbed a piece of blank paper and a pen from the table and a scribbled a few words. He left the sheet of paper on the counter in the kitchen next to the coffee pot, and then joined Penny in the bedroom.

Penny's alarm blared at her from her nightstand. She groaned and slapped the off button. The display read '6:00', and she could have sworn that the glowing red numbers were mocking her for being awake so early. Sheldon shifted in his sleep, but didn't wake up. Penny dressed for work, grabbed her purse, and stumbled out of the apartment early enough so that she could stop and pick up a cup of coffee on the way.

The production went perfectly that night. There wasn't a single flaw. When Penny had been on stage, the lights were so bright that she hadn't been able to spot Sheldon and the other boys in the audience. But now that it was over she was excited to see them and hear what they thought about the play and her performance. She rushed out into the lobby, still in full makeup and costume, and craned her neck looking for the guys. She spotted Leonard, Raj and Howard, and waved at them. They waved back at her and she made her way through the crowd to them. All three of them hugged her and praised the performance (Raj mostly nodding in agreement to the others' comments).

"Thanks guys! I'm so glad you liked it! So, where's Sheldon?" She scanned the people around her, expecting Sheldon to magically appear.

"Uh, here's the thing," Leonard started, "I went into Sheldon's office at the end of the day to let him know that I was going home. He told me he was busy and would talk with me later. So I went home. I called him before we left to come here, but his phone went straight to voicemail. I called him again before the show started, and then during intermission. I don't know where he is Penny, I'm sorry."

Penny was livid. How dare Sheldon not come! He was the one who had encouraged her to take up acting again. He knew how much this meant to her. She couldn't think of any excuse he could have that would make her forgive him for missing this. While Penny seethed, and the boys each took a step away from her, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She was about to loose it and start screaming; then she heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Excuse me, Penny is it?"

She turned around to face a kind looking, middle aged man. He held out his hand and said, "My name is Bill. I'm a casting agent. I'm currently casting parts for an independent film and was wondering if you might be interested in auditioning."

Penny shook his hand, but it was a minute before she was able to respond. It took a while for her mind to switch from anger to excitement.

"I, yes, I'm definitely interested!" Penny had to restrain herself from jumping up and down at the opportunity that was being offered to her.

"That's great!" Bill told her. He handed her a card. "Give me a call on Monday and we can talk about the film and discuss the part you will be auditioning for. Great job tonight, you stole the show."

"Thank you so much!" Penny gushed. Bill left and Penny turned back to the boys. She began to squeal and hop up and down. They hugged her and congratulated her, and then Penny remembered the missing member of their group and became sullen. "Let's go home, guys," she said.

Penny unlocked the door to her apartment and turned on the light. The place was still clean and organized from Sheldon's tidying the night before. Penny went to the fridge to get a snack. She had been too nervous to eat dinner, so she hadn't had anything to eat since lunchtime. She noticed a piece of paper sitting next to the coffee maker and picked it up. It read:

_Penny,_

_I wanted to leave you a note to wish you luck on the opening of your play (despite my lack of belief in the existence of something as unscientific as luck). As you will most likely leave before I wake in the morning and I will not get the chance to see you before you go on stage, this is my only opportunity to tell you to "break a leg." I am looking forward to watching your performance and I am certain that you will be wonderful as always. _

_I love you,_

_Sheldon_

Penny reread the note, trying to figure out what had happened. He had obviously written it last night before he came to bed. He had had every intention of coming to see her perform, and yet he didn't show up. Penny was starting to really worry that something terrible had happened. She grabbed her cell and called him. It went directly to voicemail. Penny snapped her phone shut and decided to wait for him to call or come home. She turned on the TV and began watching a movie she had already seen several times. About an hour in, she began to drift off.

Penny woke to the sound of her front door slamming shut. Sheldon stood over her, wide-eyed and clutching a bundle of papers. "Sheldon, what happened, what time is it?" She focused her eyes on the tiny numbers on the DVD player. It was almost three a.m.

"Penny!" he said, clearly out of breath, and nearly hysterical, "I may have just proven string theory."


End file.
